WHEN BETTER HEALTH IS JUST A PHONE CALL AWAY
Alternative Payment Models Help Uncover Health Issues Before They Become Crises
Value-based care models reimburse hospitals, health systems, and other healthcare providers, in part, on care quality and outcomes. These models enable health systems like Wellstar Health System in Georgia to provide more personalized case management, which can help physicians and other clinicians address problems that otherwise could go unnoticed.
Dolores & Lila's story:
Lila is a pharmacy technician with Wellstar Health System. She called Dolores one morning to check how she was responding to cholesterol medication. What Lila didn’t know was that this simple phone call would uncover another serious issue, and spur action that would drastically improve Dolores’ quality of life.
Dolores mentioned that she needed a new glucometer, test strips, and other supplies to manage her diabetes but was unable to get to the pharmacy because of mobility challenges. Lila worked with her to ship the supplies straight to her home, heading off the potentially devastating effects if Dolores’s diabetes had remained uncontrolled. Lila also coordinated with Wellstar’s social work team and Dolores’s primary care provider to help her get an electric wheelchair to improve her mobility.
Dolores is now able to move freely and independently, has better control of her diabetes, and knows the Wellstar team is just a call away whenever she needs help. This personalized support was made possible by Medicare’s incentive for value-based care.
By focusing on patient outcomes and quality of care, value-based care models allow organizations like Wellstar to identify and address health issues early. Without continued support for value-based care, patients like Dolores might not get the support they need.
This patient story has been de-identified to protect patient privacy consistent with HIPAA – no real patient names are referenced, while the experience described reflects actual events.